Cleese said he was “so disappointed with so much about this country at the moment”.

Cleese, who backed leave in the 2016 EU referendum, went on to brand the standard of debate around Brexit “one of the most depressing things about this country”.

“There were dreadful lies on the right about all the money that would come into the National Health Service,” he said. On the other hand, remainers such as David Cameron and George Osborne used scare tactics, he said.

The comedian said the “George W Bush voters” of the mid-West and south of America have “no sense of irony”. Asked if he meant that they were a “bit thicker”, he replied: “Yes.”

“Very few people have any idea of what’s actually going to happen. Why’s everyone so passionate when they can’t possibly know what the outcome is?” he asked.

He added that he has “particular beef” with the “lying and triviality” of British newspapers.